Wednesday, June 7, 2023–10:14 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
As the citizen’s SPLOST advisory committee gets ready to come up with a list of projects to be included in the upcoming vote on a special purpose, local option sales tax package, Floyd County Manager Jamie McCord is reminding city and county officials to keep operating costs in mind.
McCord told the joint services committee on Tuesday that applies to special purpose, local option sales tax projects as well as any other project.
“This great project at Banty Jones that y’all just got some additional funding for, all this is lining up and it looks like it’s going to be great, but just keep in mind we have to go back to our [recreation] agreement and come up with an operational cost, of it affects the operational costs,” he said. “The only thing I see out there that is going to make any changes in operational costs is the splash pad.”
According to McCord, these projects are just like buying a new house; you have to keep it up.
One example he gave was for the splash pad. If you use recycled chlorinated water, it has to be tested three times a day, and that costs money.
“In our joint rec. agreement as to the Banty Jones project or any future SPLOST project, we have to come up with the operational funds,” he added. “I’m still kind of sweating the ag center that’s going to be built in the next couple of months. It has an operational expense that is a little bit unknown. We have a good idea of what it will be.”
Anything that has operational costs associated with it will have to go before the joint services committee first, and then onto the full city and county commissions for approval.
Rome City Manager Sammy Rich told the committee that Rome Community Development Director Bekki Fox is expected to attend the next recreation board meeting to discuss the Banty Jones project.